Costco Wholesale Corp.

The state of the economy is having a heavy impact on the spending patterns of many Wal-Mart customers, said H. Lee Scott, president and c.e.o of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. at Goldman Sachs' 11th Annual Global Retailing Conference. But while some conditions are real, such as high fuel prices, others may be exaggerated in consumers' minds by negative media reports.

MELBOURNE - Warehouse-style retailer Costco Wholesale Corp., which currently operates stores in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, among other countries, is eyeing Australia as a new growth market, according to published reports.

MINNEAPOLIS - Target Corp. completed the sale of its Mervyn's department store division -- a promotional, middle-market department store with 257 stores in 13 states primarily in the West and South -- to an investment consortium, as well as the divesture of Mervyn's $475 million credit card receivables to GE Consumer Finance.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - In response to weaker-than-expected August sales for retailers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. cut back its financial forecasts.

SAN FRANCISCO - Shirley "Rae" Ellis, a Costco assistant warehouse manager in Douglas County, Colo., filed a national sex discrimination class action yesterday in federal court here, claiming that the Issaquah, Wash.-based warehouse club chain doesn't give female employees promotions to high-paying assistant and general store manager positions.

NEW YORK - Grocers' cross-channel competitors offered a mixed bag of July sales reports, with warehouse clubs riding fuel price hikes to the stronger results, while other discounters delivered softer performances in the month.

A marketplace roiling with competition will make the site selection game more complex than ever -- and those retailers that play it smarter will get first dibs on the best locations.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. - Costco Wholesale Corp., based here, today reported a 29 percent increase in quarterly profit, and a strong same-store sales increase of 11 percent.